


Frozen

by StarsForMars



Series: Seonghwa Hurt/Comfort Fics [4]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Car Accidents, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Not too graphic tho, Seonghwa centric, Seonghwa suffers and I'm sorry, Winter, WooHwa if you squint, descriptions of injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:33:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22091878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarsForMars/pseuds/StarsForMars
Summary: The members are returning home during a snowstorm when their van goes off the road.
Relationships: Park Seonghwa/Everyone
Series: Seonghwa Hurt/Comfort Fics [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709545
Comments: 15
Kudos: 440





	Frozen

Seonghwa was cold. And that’s all he knows for a while; a silent chill seeping its way into him, straight down to his bones. 

He remembers being in their van, headphones in and dozing off against the window. Somewhere at his side was San, playing a game on his phone. Hongjoong and Wooyoung were behind them in the backseat, also quietly occupying themselves. It was late and they were heading back to the dorms. It had started to snow. 

A shiver overtakes him, sending a jolt of pain through his side. But the cold is still pressing in, keeping him still in its firm grasp. 

“Seonghwa…”

The voice sounds far away, muffled and warped in his quiet ice world. Seonghwa can’t make out its owner as another shiver wracks his body. 

“Hyung, where are you?”

_ I’m missing _ ? Seonghwa wonders as his brain starts to grind back into gear. However, the cold is trying to drag him back. He’s so tired. 

“Over here!” Another voice, slightly higher pitched. 

Seonghwa’s sense of awareness falters and he’s not sure how long it’s been when it comes back. The cold is still there, everywhere, and so is the pain. But on his cheek there is warmth. He puts all his focus on it. Soft warmth against his frozen skin. If only it could melt the rest of him. 

“Hyung, please, wake up…”

This time he recognizes it as San, except that he’s never heard him sound so frantic before. It unsettles him. 

“Come on, Seonghwa, don’t do this.” The lack of formality gives it away as Hongjoong.

Seonghwa turns his focus on the voices, trying his hardest to do as they ask and wake up. Another hand starts shaking his shoulder gently which sends little sparks of pain with each movement. 

“Ughh..” He hears himself groan against the discomfort. 

“Good! Good, Seonghwa, we’re here.”

The pain flares and he gasps, eyes fluttering open. Seonghwa thinks he sees an angel at first, the world blurry as someone with Hongjoong’s voice leans into his field of vision, white hair swirling with the snowflakes around him. 

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Cold..” He says, barely a whisper as he blinks to try and clear his vision. “Side… hurts…”

Speaking causes him to breath harder which sets off the fire in his side. The contrast against the cold snow is jarring and tears spring to his eyes, blurring what he’s just managed to clear. 

“Um...okay. Try not to move for now. We’re just making sure the van is safe to go back to, we need to get out of this snow until help comes.”

A hand finds Seonghwa’s and pulls it into someplace warm. He turns his head to see San at his other side, bringing his hand into his jacket. “You’re so cold, Hyung.”

He hasn’t seen Wooyoung yet. Or their manager. 

“Are...you guys...okay?” Seonghwa asks, grunting with each word. 

“Shh. We’re a little banged up but you got the worst of it,” Hongjoong explains. Seonghwa can feel San’s hand trembling. “Wooyoung and manager hyung are checking the van. We can’t get cell reception here and the others must have been too far ahead to see us go off the road.”

“You got thrown, hyung. Your seatbelt must not have been latched right. We….we couldn’t find you at first,” San says. There’s an upsetting wobble to his voice. “Wooyoung found you but you were… you wouldn’t wake up…”

San trails off and Hongjoong leans over to pat his shoulder. “He’s awake now, he’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”

Seonghwa could feel himself teetering on the verge of crying himself but he was also still so cold. Everything felt too slow and out of focus, like his mind was scrambling to keep up.

Another shiver comes over him, the pain alighting yet again and he cries out. 

“Hyung,” San whines.

“Try not to move, I think you broke something, a rib or.. I don’t know..”

Seonghwa breathes through the pain, shutting his eyes to center himself. He recalls when he’d bruised his ribs before, during their tour, but this felt worse than he remembered.

“How is he? Seonghwa?”

Their manager finally walks over and when Seonghwa opens his eyes, he sees him above, along with Wooyoung, face pale but the tip of his nose tinged pink from the cold. 

“Awake, but he’s out of it,” Hongjoong replies, “I think he has broken ribs, he’s in pain when he breathes.”

“Seonghwa-ya,” his manager says, voice low and soft. Comforting. “We have to move you out of the snow to the van, it’s too cold here.”

It was not a question with an option; Seonghwa slowly nodded.

Their manager knelt down and Hongjoong moved out of the way for a moment. “I’m going to check your injuries first, okay? I don’t want to move you if your back or neck is injured.”

He then began touching Seonghwa’s head, feeling for any bumps or blood. “Does your head hurt at all?”

“Uh...a little,” Seonghwa whispered. His voice felt distant. 

“I think you hit it on something, I can feel a bump here.”

A flash of pain and Seonghwa saw stars.

“Sorry, Seonghwa.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” San soothed. “You can squeeze my hand if it hurts.”

Seonghwa just wanted it to stop. This wasn’t happening.

His manager moved on, feeling his neck and shoulders, and then down his arms and legs. 

“Can you move your fingers and toes?”

Seonghwa successfully did as he was asked.

“Good boy. I don’t think you have a spinal injury but we’ll still be careful.” He shifted back around to his side. “Alright, I’m going to lift you and have Hongjoong steady your head. It’s going to move your ribs but we have to get you out of here, you’ll get hypothermic if we don’t.”

Panic bubbled up in Seonghwa’s stomach. 

“On the count of three. One…”

“It’s okay hyung, keep holding my hand.”

“Two…”

Hongjoong was above him, cold hands steadying his head, eyes wide and focused. 

“Three.”

Seonghwa’s gravity changed, and there was a brief moment where he felt like he was flying. 

And then it hit. 

Seonghwa screamed. Someone was stabbing his side with a hot knife, again and again, tearing through him. He was hot and cold, all at the same time, sweat suddenly gathering on his skin. He was going to be sick. 

Seonghwa wretched, he wasn’t sure where - on himself or on his manager or over his side onto the ground. His face was wet with tears that froze to his cheeks. 

Someone else was crying too. 

Finally he was placed back down, somewhere darker. But it didn’t feel any warmer. A wave of exhaustion overcame him and he let his mind go for a while. 

* * *

  
  
“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I can feel. Here.”

Seonghwa was roused by the sensation of something tickling his nose. 

“Still breathing.”

“He’s just so pale…”

“I know. I’m worried too.”

He opened his eyes to the sight of a jungle of seat belts and chairs hanging above him. 

“Hyung? Are you awake?”

“Mmm,” he groaned, shifting slightly. 

San and Wooyoung’s faced popped into sight simultaneously.

“How are you feeling?”

Seonghwa took a moment to take stock of himself. His head was pounding dully and his side was still throbbing but the acute pain seemed to have settled for now. He tried to take a deep breath but aborted as soon as he felt a sharp twinge in his chest.

“Better,” he winced. 

San sighed. “That wasn’t at all convincing, hyung.”

Seonghwa tried to look around as he realized they were inside the van, albeit on the ceiling, which had now become the floor. 

“It flipped?”

“Yeah,” Wooyoung confirmed. “And rolled.”

“Where’s Hongjoong, and manager hyung?”

Wooyoung glanced at San wearily for permission, then looked back. “They…left-”

“What? Ah!” Seonghwa gasped. 

“Don’t move,” San said gently, placing his hands on Seonghwa’s shoulders to steady him. 

“They were going to walk ahead,” Wooyoung continued, “we don’t have reception so they are going to try and flag someone down. They thought it best not to go alone.”

Seonghwa’s stomach sunk at the thought. It was so cold outside, and who knows how far away they were from anything. Would anyone else be out in these conditions?

“They made that choice, hyung,” San said. “And we’re staying back with you. Wooyoung is having trouble walking-”

“Just a sprain, don’t worry,” Wooyoung replied Seonghwa’s questioning glance.

“-and I can go out and keep checking for cars.”

“It was Hongjoong hyung’s plan,” Wooyoung added, as if that was any more reassuring. 

“How long has it been?” Seonghwa asked. 

“About 3 hours since we crashed. You were....asleep for a while…” San looked down at his lap, he was sitting on his knees, crouched down between two inverted seats. “You scared us hyung, when Wooyoung found you, we thought you were…”

San left his sentence unfinished but Seonghwa knew what he was going to say. He must have looked pretty bad. 

“Manager says you have a concussion too and not to let you sleep too long, but you were in so much pain, you still are-”

“Shhh,” Seonghwa hushed San, knowing the sound of his voice when he was about to cry. “I’m okay for now, and they’ll find someone to help us. I’m sure of it.”

Wooyoung chuckled miserably. “Of course you would still comfort us when you’re the one hurt, hyung.”

Seonghwa reached for his hand weakly. He didn’t often show much physical affection towards Wooyoung - teasing was more their method of communication - but he knew when his younger brothers needed him to be strong.

“We’ll be fine, I promise.”

* * *

Another hour passed, and another. San had gone out a few times to check the road for travellers but there was no sight of anyone. He would crawl back into the cramped space each time, crestfallen and trying to shake the snowflakes and chill off. 

It was getting colder, though none of them spoke of it. Their only respite being that the wind had shifted, no longer blowing directly into them.

Seonghwa dozed on and off, Wooyoung waking him periodically if it had been more than 20 minutes. Wooyoung had been playing some songs on his phone while he watched the time. It was half past midnight. They tried to keep their minds off their leader and manager walking somewhere far off in the distance. 

He tried to hide it but it was getting more difficult for Seonghwa to take full breaths. Besides the pain, it almost felt like his lungs were constricted. He suppressed a cough, tightening his arm to his side to brace himself. 

“You okay?” Wooyoung asked when he noticed the grimace on Seonghwa’s face after a particularly difficult one. 

“Yeah....it’s just...hard to catch…my breath…”

Wooyoung’s face fell. When San returned with the same report of no one on the roads, Wooyoung pulled him close, whispering in his ear. 

Seonghwa glanced over and immediately regretted it as the world started spinning. He shut his eyes, focusing on each inhale and exhale. He coughed again, something metallic hitting his tongue. 

“Hyung…?”

Seonghwa nodded, but kept his eyes shut as he continued to breathe heavily. 

“We’re gonna look at your side, okay? We just-…we need to see how bad it is. You’re breathing too fast right now.”

San slid over and started lifting away the blankets they had dug out earlier and had piled on him, and then unzipped his jacket. Carefully, he slid Seonghwa’s shirt up, trying not to touch his side. The cool air actually felt good against his clammy skin, dulling the pain for a moment.

There was a sharp intake of breath and Wooyoung swore. 

“Is it bad?” Seonghwa asked, already knowing the answer from their reactions. 

San reached for his bag and dug around, trying to find something, and then pulled out a hand mirror. He held it up until Seonghwa could see for himself. 

Seonghwa’s entire side was a deep, blackish purple, from his chest right down to his hip bone. The color he could deal with, but the grotesque way a couple of his ribs bent and poked awkwardly beneath his skin made him feel sick. Yeah, this was bad. 

San lowered the mirror and Seonghwa shivered. “It’s cold.”

“Right,” San said, shaking his head and quickly covering Seonghwa back up, even more gently. He added an extra blanket. 

The three boys sat (and laid) in silence for a while, only broken by Seonghwa’s muffled coughs. 

“I want to go home,” Wooyoung said after some time, breath coming out in a cloudy puff. 

“Me too,” San replied, sniffling. 

* * *

Seonghwa wasn’t sure anymore if he was hallucinating or dreaming. Wooyoung would be talking to him and the next thing he knew, he was underwater, lungs full of liquid as faces rippled above on the surface, looked down at him. He would come up gasping, trying to get in oxygen only to be shoved back down. 

In between those moments, San and Wooyoung would try to comfort him, singing to him softly, their voices warped. Cool hands would press against his cheek, forehead and neck. The feeling was almost blissful, his heated skin seeking it, his face leaning into the welcome palm. 

“Hyung, can you hear me?”

Seonghwa muttered a ‘yes’ but it came out a choking gasp. The taste of metal filling his mouth, making him nauseous. 

“Seonghwa, just breathe. In and out. Do it with me.”

It was Wooyoung again. Seonghwa’s hand was pressed against a warm body that expanded and contracted. “In and out, hyung.”

He put everything he had into focusing on the feeling, trying to match his breathing with the younger’s. It took a minute but eventually he found the rhythm. 

“Good, just keep doing that.”

The crunch of snow and brustle of gloves on a jacket. “Nothing. No one. It’s been hours, Wooyoung, why are there no people?”

“I don’t know. But he needs help,  _ now _ . San there’s...there’s blood in his mouth.”

A harsh bang of a boot against metal. “Fuck..”

Seonghwa just wanted to sleep. If he could just sleep, it would be better. His eyes fluttered and fell closed again. 

“Hyung. Seonghwa. Stay with me? Please, you’re scaring me. Don’t go to sleep.”

The pleading made Seonghwa want to cry but his body was too tired to do even that. 

“Don’t sleep. Just breathe.”

* * *

  
  


He was sure he was dreaming when he heard Hongjoong’s voice. The sound of it was tinny, like when you made a phone out of some soup cans and string as a kid. 

“Help is coming. There was a military patrol out. They radioed for a rescue and brought us back.”

“How is he?”

“Not good, he started coughing up blood and is running a fever. We looked and his ribs are definitely broken. I think it punctured his lungs or something. He’s not breathing well.”

“ _ Shit _ .”

New voices joined the fray. 

“Alright, we have a rescue team flying in with a helicopter. They should be here within 15 minutes.”

“You kids did great.”

“Will Seonghwa be okay?”

“We don’t know, but he’ll be sent out first. The hospital is already on stand by.”

“Did you hear that hyung? We’re being rescued. You’ll be okay. Just hang on a little longer.” A hand brushed his cheek and pushed his bangs aside. “We’ll make sure you’re okay.”

* * *

In the moment, Seonghwa could hear the whirring of propellers, he felt the cold air nip at his skin, and the pain of being moved and jostled. He heard the sound of directions and information he couldn’t process or understand being spoken into a radio. He felt the sensation of the ground leaving below. He saw the faces of people he didn’t know, constantly checking on him, touching him, trying to ask him questions. Bright lights and strange smells came and went. 

Later, he couldn’t remember any of it. 

* * *

  
  


Seonghwa woke up and his first thought was that he was finally warm. Warm and comfortable, no pain. His second thought was in regards to the hand currently holding his. It was smaller than the last hand he had held. And it was also warmer. 

He let his eyes slide open, blinking away the light. The whiteness around him was not snow but the white hair from that night had returned. 

Seonghwa gently squeezed Hongjoong’s hand.

“Huh? I wasn’t sleeping, just thinking.” The other said, lifting his head up from where it had rested on Seonghwa’s bed. He looked around before finally settling his gaze on Seonghwa who was blinking hazily at him from his pillow. 

“Oh my god…” Hongjoong shot up, immediately reaching for the little red button loosely wrapped around the railing. “Seonghwa.”

Seonghwa’s voice wasn’t ready to work yet and everything moved slowly, but he felt his mouth pull itself into a small smile beneath the plastic mask on his face. 

Hongjoong smiled back, rubbing his thumb over the back of Seonghwa’s hand soothingly. “You’re alright, you’re in the hospital, but you’re okay.”

Seonghwa nodded in understanding. 

A doctor and nurse arrived shortly after and assessed him, also explaining everything his body had been through. A rib had indeed broken and punctured his lung which had collapsed. He’d had surgery to repair the damage and had been sedated in intensive care for the past three and a half days to let his body heal and recover. Today was the first day he was allowed visitors and Hongjoong had been his first besides his parents. 

The assault of information tired him out and he could feel himself wanting to drift off again. 

“You can sleep,” Hongjoong said. “I’ll go and let the others know you woke up though.”

“Are...they alright?” Seonghwa rasped, his throat dry and sore from disuse. 

Hongjoong laughed. “Wooyoung knew you would ask about them first. They’re fine and want to see you. Maybe tonight when you’re less sleepy, hmm?”

Seonghwa nodded again, eyes already falling shut of their own accord. 

“You did great, Seonghwa.”

* * *

  
  


The other members did indeed visit later that evening, when Seonghwa felt more lucid and tried to eat some solid food for the first time in days. Mingi had nearly knocked him off the bed in a hug until Jongho grabbed a hold of his belt loop and reminded him to be gentle. 

“I’m not made of glass, you know,” Seonghwa said after a few bites of some bland, unidentifiable mashed vegetable. 

“Try saying that without painkillers,” Wooyoung retorted back, earning a slap on the back from Yeosang. “Hey, I’m hurt too!”

“Your foot, not your brain.”

Yunho snickered. 

San shimmied up the bed, eyes watery. He took Seonghwa’s hand and held between both of his. “I’m so glad you’re okay, we were so scared. We never want to see you, or any of us, like that again.”

Wooyoung nodded along somberly this time. 

“Hey,” Mingi piped up, lightening the mood. “When can we see your scar. I bet it looks so badass.”

“You would just faint, Mingi,” Yeosang deadpanned. 

Seonghwa laughed, which made his side ache, but it felt good. “I love you guys.”

There was a chorus of I love yous back as they all took a moment to appreciate each other’s presence. It didn’t last long before San and Wooyoung were arguing over something, and Yunho was hanging off of Mingi, looking for something to play with. Yeosang read some pamphlets in the room and Jongho went to the window. It almost seemed like they were home for a moment. 

“You should probably rest some more, Seonghwa. I’ll kick the kids out.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I like that they are here.” His yawn said otherwise. 

“I’ll try and sneak you in some treats if I can.”

Seonghwa nodded eagerly, pushing away his food tray. “This stuff isn’t even food.”

Just then an announcement came on, signalling the end of visiting hours. 

“Aww, man.”

“Nooooo, I want to stay with hyung.”

“He’ll still be here tomorrow guys, let’s let him rest up. I’m sure you’ll bring him lots to do tomorrow,” Hongjoong said. 

They all said their get wells and good-byes and ushered themselves out of the room. Wooyoung however swung back, walking over in his crutches. 

“You know I tease you because I love you right?” He asked sheepishly. 

Seonghwa reached up and poked his cheek. “Of course I do.”

“Good. I...realized I never told you that, and then for a while I thought I might never be able to…”

“It’s okay, Wooyoungie. And you were a great help to me out there. I remember you talking to me and helping me breathe.”

Wooyoung looked down, a flush on his cheeks. “I didn’t know what else to do. You were in so much pain, and I-...”

He didn’t continue, instead leaning over and hugging Seonghwa, holding him. 

“No one could ever replace you, hyung,” he whispered. “And if someone else teases you, I’ll beat their ass.”

Seonghwa laughed again, holding his side. “You better get going or Joong is going to beat  _ your _ ass.”

“Right,” Wooyoung said as he moved to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t be flirting with the nurses.”

Wooyung winked and was gone before Seonghwa could respond. 

As Seonghwa waited for sleep to come, he realized that the warmth of his members would always keep him going, no matter how cold and painful life could get. And he drifted off with their voices in his ears and their love in his heart. 


End file.
